


It Follows

by bingebabyren



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-06-27 00:02:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 24
Words: 18,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15673950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bingebabyren/pseuds/bingebabyren
Summary: "wish there was a situation to be mad at or a person we could blame"The end of the world is announced. Again. Things like this have happened many, many times throughout history. There's always some crazy guy who claims to have had visions of the end of the world. Like in 2013, which unfortunately, never happened.But for the first time ever, scientists, astronomers, even the government are confirming that this time, it's the real deal. The atmosphere is tearing itself apart, and oxygen is rapidly disappearing. Children and elders started dying off, and with only a month left, Taeyong opens up Target, the store where he was previously working as a manager until everything crashed, to several of his friends, those who's parents are no longer around to take care of them, or those who just don't want to be alone during their last month of life.





	1. Chapter 1

Monday, July 30th

33 days

·Jungwoo·

 

"What are you thinking about?"

Jungwoo was momentarily pulled from his thoughts at the sound of Yukhei's low and-- at the moment, gentle voice, speaking the way he only did with Jungwoo. "Nothing." He lied, leaning his head back on the arm of the chair, his legs hanging over the other side. The two were in his living room, where Jungwoo spent most of his time now that he was alone, and never had to move around the house based on where the rest of his family were located.

In actuality, Jungwoo's thoughts were on the week before, on the day of the announcement. He had been under the willow tree in his backyard, a copy of 1984, a book assigned to him over the summer that he hadn't quite gotten around to until that day, one of the hottest days in July. The tempurature had increased significantly over that year, and Jungwoo's friend Doyoung had irritably stated, I told you a carbon tax was the only viable solution to climate change, it's too late now.

Jungwoo had felt particularly at ease that day, sitting under the blossoming willow tree in his favorite hoodie with the not-too large book in his lap. He thought maybe he was getting a cold, or the humidity was intense, because the air seemed heavier, but he didn't think anything of it at the time. 

Once the announcement was made, people all over the world were thrown into hysteria. Very few people went on mass killing sprees because, "we're all gonna die anyways", most others traveled to places they've always wanted to visit but never did, because they were waiting for the right time, only to find out that the right time would never come.

Jungwoo lived in what seemed like a ghost town now, almost everyone, including his own parents, left to spend the rest of their days with loved ones. Jungwoo was supposed to go with them, but instead told his parents he wanted to live quietly on his own, to get a sense of adult life since he would never get to experience it for real.

That was another lie, Jungwoo just didnt want them to be around when he finally broke down. He was waiting for it, he knew it was coming and at this point, he was surprised he hadn't cried at all. And yes, he missed his family, but what did it matter if he spent his last month with them? What could he possibly gain within a month that he hadn't already gotten in the last twenty years?

Jungwoo was well aware of the tiny blue capsule in his pocket at all times, the one that had been handed out to everyone by government officials. And despite it's small size, it seemed to weigh him down. Or at least, his heart. He wondered if his parents had taken theirs yet. Or if he would ever gather enough courage to take his own. Maybe, when the day got close enough, and he would decide he'd rather die peacefully, totally painfree, than...well, he wasn't quite sure what was going to happen.

Still, the idea of taking his own life, even if it was the better option, seemed almost impossible for him.

He had spent the last week feeling like his heart was going to beat out of his chest, his fingers fumbled with even the simplest tasks.

He'd never finish that book now.

But there he sat, book in hand, reading the same paragraph over and over and over and over and over, until Yukhei pulled the book away from him and tossed it over his shoulder.

"You haven't turned the page in almost twenty minutes."

"I just...really liked that page." Jungwoo said with a shrug, trying not to look Yukhei in the eye as he knelt down in front of him so the two were now eye level. Yukhei rested his elbows on the chair, one hand reaching for Jungwoo's and the other cupped his cheek.

"Stop thinking about it."

"I can't."

"Let's go out then. We can do pretty much anything for free now, and you need a distraction."

"Taeil's worse than I am..."

"You want me to take Taeil out?"

Jungwoo blinked, trying to ignore the smirk on Yukhei's face, the one he wasn't even trying to hide because for some reason, the suggestion was funny to him. "Well no, but-"

"So, lets go then."

"Where?"

Yukhei stood up and stretched. Jungwoo shivered at the popping sound that never failed to gross him out for reasons he could never figure out. "Who knows and who cares? Lets just drive until you see somewhere you want to go. Preferably somewhere with food, I'm starving. You have nothing good here."

"That's because you ate it all."

"If I wanted to be shamed, I'd go home."

Jungwoo let Yukhei pull him up, insisting that he was totally okay, Yukhei was just worrying too much, and that he was only agreeing to go out of boredom.

"And your love for your boyfriend, right?"

"That too."


	2. Chapter 2

Monday, July 30th

33 days

·Taeyong·

 

"What if we run out of food?"

"We have more than enough, Kun. It's only a month, remember?"

"Oh. Right."

Taeyong stepped closer to Kun in an attempt to block Jisung and Chenle, though the two weren't paying any attention. Still, he didn't want to risk them hearing anything, and Jisung was always pretty good at reading lips.

He and Chenle had built a fort of cardboard boxes that they had dragged out from the back of the store. Chenle somehow managed to create a second floor using the metal shelves that he had cleared, and the two spent most of their time adding on to their already impressive (and unnecessarily complicated) creation.

They even slept in it for a few days. Until Taeyong decided that no, they needed a real bed. Or the closest thing he could find, a mattress with dozens of throw pillows and plush blankets with cartoon characters printed on them.

Jisung liked to carry around one blanket in particular, and Taeyong had even called him Linus at one point. But he ended up very disappointed when Jisung only looked back at him, asking who 'Linus' was. Taeyong looked to Chenle, hoping maybe he knew, but he only mirrored the same confused expression that Jisung wore.

"When will the boys' parents be back?" Kun suddenly asked, lowering his voice as much as he could.

Taeyong frowned. "They were on vacation when the announcement was made, and the airports are pretty hectic right now."

"But they haven't called? Sent a text? Anything?" Kun looked over his shoulder when Jisung poked his head out of the 'window' he had made in the fort. 

"Can we get pizza tonight?"

"Sure," Taeyong gave a warm smile, one that faded almost immediately after Jisung disappeared back into the fort. "Great. Now we gotta find pizza."

"Taeyong," Kun started, biting the corner of his lip nervously. "You don't think anything happened to them, do you?"

"No way," Taeyong answered immediatley. "They'll be back soon, and if not...well, we'll just keep going like this. This is fine."

Kun was about to argue when the store alarm went off. Loud complaints sounded from the fort, and soon Chenle and Jisung had crawled out with both hands over their ears.

"Fucking Ten, god damn it," Taeyong huffed, slamming his fist down on the switch that shut off the alarm. "I told him to use the front freaking door."

"Like he's going to listen to you."

"One day he will."

"You've been saying that for years."

"Shut up."


	3. Chapter 3

Monday, July 30th

33 days

•Jaemin & Jeno•

"People have been predicting the end of the world for thousands of years," Jaemin said as he stood behind Jeno, where he stood in front of the sliding glass door that lead out to the appartments balcony. It wasn't theirs or course, not at first. It was abandoned by very rich buisness man, probably to spend the rest of his days on some exotic island, which actually wasn't so far fetched, that's what lots of people were doing. The refrigerator and the cupboards were fully stocked, and Jaemin was ecstatic that he didn't have to go out to get them food. But today, he noticed they we're already running low. At least, on things they considered to be edible. There was still plenty of food, but things like a bulk sized container of oats, a few whole onions, a bag of celery, a massive bag of white rice (which was nice but what were they expected to eat it plain? No, honey.), and the rest was mostly condiments and canned beans. Jaemin was definitely not a fan.

Jaemin put an arm around Jeno's shoulders, standing up on his toes to press his cheek against his. "At some point, someone had to be right."

"I know," Jeno nodded, closing his eyes. He stood there in the sun, with full knowledge that the UV rays were even more dangerous now that the stratosphere was very quickly being torn apart. Scientists had said that what was left was practically useless, and at this point, going outside at all would inevitably cause skin cancer, but no one cared. Who would? They'd all be dead in a month, anyways.

The only thing Jeno was really worried about was a sunburn. He'd be stuck taking cold showers for the rest of his life (ha), and he really didn't want that.

This was the only time he could text "im literally dying lol" and not look like an idiot for not knowing what the word 'literal' actually meant. Something he liked to call others out on when ever they'd use the word incorrectly, and he was a little disappointed that he couldn't do that so much anymore.

Jaemin was about to press a kiss to Jeno's cheek, but decided he didn't want him to open his eyes just yet. He looked so calm and at peace, and he also liked being able to admire his features up close without being teased. "Don't stare at me," Jeno suddenly said, but his eyes remained closed. "You're making me nervous."

Jaemin sighed, but decided he might as well kiss his cheek now before he left to get food for the two of them. "Then how do you think I feel?" He mumbled, leaning closer, but just before his lips pressed against his cheek, Jeno had quickly turned his head. Jaemin could feel Jeno smiling through the kiss, which was nothing new. Their kisses we're always  soft, always slow, and Jeno was always smiling. Jaemin tugged on the elders ear for surprising him. "Warn me next time."

"Yeah, whatever," Jeno waved his hand in dismissal, his other hand rubbing his ear, which was now bright red and sore. "I love you."

I know you do. Now let's go."

"Where?"

"We have to get food."

"We should get spaghetti so we can do that thing in Lady and The Tramp. I've been practicing pushing a meatball around my plate with my nose."


	4. Chapter 4

Monday, July 30th  
33 days

•Mark•

 

There was a time that mark would have rather let spiders and all sorts of insects crawl all over him than to get in a vehicle with Ten.

Ten wasn't a bad driver at all. He was actually really good, but he was reckless. The very few times that Mark didn't have a choice, and he had to get in the car with Ten, by the time they reached their destination, Mark's back was pressed as far into the seat as it could go, his nails digging into the arm rest, leaving cresent marks, and the other held the grand handle so tightly that when he eventually did let go, his fingers were stuck in that position for a few minutes. He could feel his heart hammering against his ribs even after he had gotten out of the car.

At the time, he hated it. He wanted to feel safe, and a safe driver, aka, not Ten, was a good start. So he usually ended up getting rides from Johnny Seo, a radio DJ that Mark knew from when he used to be a cashier with Taeyong at Target. It was his first job, so Mark was still pretty young, eleven or twelve maybe.

Mark had been absolutely ecstatic when he finally got his license, but since he never had a car of his own (and refused to use his parents' because it was a minivan, and he wouldn't be caught dead in that thing), he would convince Ten to let him drive instead. 

The day the announcement had been made, Mark didn't believe it. There had been hundreds of predictions of the end of the world, none of which had been true, so he didn't think anything of it, aside from the fact that it would just be something everyone forgot about until the day had passed.

But when the babies, toddlers, and the elderly started dying from all the toxins in the air and the oxygen that was slowly going away, he realized that things really were going to shit. 

Just like Donghyuck said.

He was right.

Not that Mark would ever admit that to his face, of course. Mark had learned early on, never to give Donghyuck a reason to say, I told you so.

Even if the world was going up in flames around then, Mark would go to his grave swearing up and down that everything is good, chill, global warming is a hoax, reality is an illusion, it was all in his head, and Donghyuck needed to calm the fuck down.

Mark knew it was true by now, every breath was a struggle and it only got worse every day. He seriously considered taking the little blue pill he kept in his pocket, but decided he needed one more day with Donghyuck.

Just one more.

But of course, he said that everyday.

"Where's your boyfriend?"

Mark was pulled form his thoughts as Ten slapped at his elbow with the hand that wasn't on the steering wheel, and Mark was glad, most of the time he would steer with his knees, and just sit back. Johnny did that, too, sometimes, but Mark trusted Johnny a whole lot more.

"Probably annoying Taeyong or something. He said he was going over there earlier, maybe he's still there." Mark said, ignoring the teasing undertones of the 'boyfriend' part.

They weren't official. Mark never asked, and neither did Donghyuck, and Mark was afraid it was too late now. They weren't around each other as much and Jaemin and Jeno were, not to the extent of being inseparable. Again, like Jaemin and Jeno.

They didn't see each other during the day most of the time, but Mark would always come back to Donghyuck's house. The one that was once incredibly loud, because his family was just as energetic as he was. They were gone now, traveling somewhere Mark didn't care enough to remember, and he would never say this to Donghyuck, but he was glad. That meant they didn't have to keep the door open whenever Mark was over. Not that they ever did much anyways, aside from laying together. There really was no point to shutting the door at all, now that he thought about it. Still, he liked it.

It also meant he didn't have to sleep in the guest room whenever he spent the night, and he didn't have to worry about keeping that awkward space between them whenever they sat in the couch in fear of his parents saying something. Mark could show as much affection as he wanted, and not have to worry about anything.

And Mark had never really thought of himself as a real clingy guy, but coming back so late at night, especially now, knowing that they had no future and going on was practically pointless, Donghyuck was really the only comfort he got.

"Do you want to go there then? If he isn't there, then we can just hang out with Taeyong for a while."

Mark nodded, rubbing the back of his neck in an attempt to soothe the ache from sleeping in such an awkward position the night before, because he refused to move in fear of waking Donghyuck. Both because he looked cute, and because he really didn't want to listen to him complain about it.

Ten suddenly smiled wide. "Dare me to close my eyes for thirty seconds?"

"Nope."

"You're boring."


	5. Chapter 5

Tuesday, July 31  
32 days

•Yuta•

 

"Come back to bed." He heard soft footsteps behind him just before Sicheng leaned over his shoulder in a sort of back hug, or more like an attempt to stand upright as he was still half-asleep.

Yuta brought his hand up to cover Sicheng's, which he had moved to cup his cheek. Yuta turned his head to press his lips against his palm. "Alright." He kept his hand over Sicheng's, lacing their fingers together as he stood up and turned to face him. Yuta laughed softly to himself as he noticed Sicheng's eyes were barely even open, and his head was slumped forward like it was a struggle to even stay concious.

Yuta wasn't surprised, Sicheng hadn't been sleeping much at all the past week. Neither had Yuta, but not for the reasons he'd like. 

He wished he could say they were staying up together to watch movies, or binge a new TV series, or have sex, or whatever. But he couldn't. They were both exhausted, but neither of them could ever fall asleep. They'd lay there for hours, trying so hard to get even an hour of rest. The most Yuta had gotten so far were a few twenty minute naps.

So when Sicheng finally fell asleep that night, Yuta wanted to stay with him, make sure he didn't have any nightmares (it wasn't a rare occurrence for him to wake up in tears), and pet his hair the way he knew Sicheng loved.

But he was afraid that even the slightest sound or movement he made would wake him, so he went to try and sleep on the couch. It was surprisingly comfortable, but still, no luck.

It was almost four in the morning when Sicheng came looking for him, meaning he had gotten a whole six hours, which was more than either of them had in the past three days. 

Yuta couldn't think of anything other than the day it was supposed to happen. The end of the world.

In all honestly, he was glad. Humans were shitty beings that really fucked things up, and he had always believed that they were the reason everything was going to shit. Even as a kid.

It was obvious though, what else could have done it? Bears? No. Yuta never had any faith that people would change their ways and save the earth. All those nature documentaries he had to sit through in school, all the times he went around picking up trash with his classmates on Earth day, bullshit. It was too late, they were already fucked.

Picking up a few pieces of plastic wasn't going to fix the massive hole in the stratosphere. The damage had already been done. All the protests, all the charities, for what? To raise money for research?

Research that told the world what Yuta had known for years.

They were fucked.

"Do you think you can go back to sleep?" Yuta asked, rubbing his eyes with his fist as if that would help him see in the dark.

It didn't.

Sicheng nodded, tugging his hand and pulled him back to their room. He crawled back into bed, before lifting the covers off the bed and holding them there as he looked up at Yuta. "Hold me this time."


	6. Chapter 6

Tuesday, July 31  
32 days

•Renjun•

 

"Why are you researching colleges?"

Renjun let out a long, exaggerated sigh as he slowly shut his laptop and looked up at Donghyuck. "I'm sending out applications this year, you know this."

"Dude, there's not going to be any colleges. There isn't even going to be a you to attend them."

Renjun rolled his eyes and opened his laptop again, continuing to look through what he believed to be the top art schools in the country. "Can't believe that everyone's buying this shit."

"The fact the literally everyone except for you believes it should be a little bit of a red flag, don't you think?"

"No," Renjun said shortly. "Everyone's just stupid."

No matter how many times he was told, no matter how much 'evidence' was given about the end of the world, Renjun would always write it off as bullshit.

The amount of times the end of the world had been predicted over the course of his life, a very short eighteen years, was a little obnoxious, if he was being honest-- and he always was, and every single time, it had turned out perfectly fine. He was still here, he was living, he was breathing, and he was going to live out the rest of his life.

Renjun had already graduated highschool, he was going to college, he was going to become an artist, he was going to get married, start a family, and he was not going to die anytime soon.

He was disappointed, angry even, that people bought into this so easily. Where was the proof? Was he expected to believe that the world was what? Going to explode? Run out of breathable air, and he would suffucate (like in Spaceballs)? That a meteor was going to destroy everything?

The fact the he didn't know how was what he found suspicious. The world was supposedly going to end within a month, and yet they hadn't been told exactly how it was going to happen. And he was supposed to believe that?

No.

Renjun was going to send out applications, and he was going to continue living as if he wasn't surrounded be idiots. That shouldn't be too hard, he's been doing it all his life.

Only this time the idiocracy was amplified to the max. Something Renjun hadn't thought possible.

"Are you seriously saying that everyone in the world is stupid except you?" 

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

Donghyuck sighed, but nodded. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Just don't get your hopes up."

"Alright, listen," Renjun snapped, narrowing his eyes into a glare. "Either you're right, and we all die, or I'm right, and I get to rub in your face how incredibly dumb you are for the rest of your life. Either way, honestly, I'm fine with it."

"There's something wrong with you."


	7. Chapter 7

Sunday, August 5  
27 days

•Doyoung•

 

Doyoung sat sandwiched between Taeyong and Taeil in the makeshift 'living room', which used to be the electronic aisle before Yukhei and Johnny had pushed the shelves back against the wall.

He was trying his best to ignore Taeyong's hand on his thigh, which seemed a little unnecessary, but he didn't think too much about it because Taeyong was overly affectionate with everyone.

But it was hard not to notice how their thighs we're pressed together and how Taeyong's body was oddly similar to his girlfriend's, but she was gone, he'd never see her again as she had went to spend her last month with her family. He respected that.

Still, he hadn't gotten laid in so long, and Taeyong's breath against his neck every time he turned to talk to Taeil certainly wasn't helping.

Doyoung was almost considering it...pushing guilt aside because it didn't matter anyways, it wasn't like he was ever going to see her again, and shouldn't he go out with a bang?

"What are you laughing at?"

Doyoung quickly wiped the smirk off his face and shook his head. "Your ugly face."

Taeyong blinked. "But I'm not..."

"Hey is there an employees room or like...a storage closet or something?"

Doyoung turned around. Yuta stood behind them with Sicheng's wrist held tight at his side. Sicheng pressed into his side with a wide smile, and the two were whispering and giggling back and forth.

Doyoung wanted to throw up.

"Yeah, there's a break room to the left of the bathrooms." Taeyong pointed them in the right direction, and the two immediately took off.

"Lock the door!" Johnny called over his shoulder after they had nearly knocked him to the ground as they ran past. He held a blow up dolphin over his shoulder, and he dropped it at Taeyong's feet when he reached them. "Chenle and Jisung aren't over there, are they?"

"They're in their box fort."

Doyoung made a face. "They've been in there almost all week."

"They're kids, Doyoung," Kun said from where he stood leaning against the shelves. "Let them be."

"Do they even know what's going on? Have they even noticed that their parents haven't come back to get them?"

Taeyong glared. "No, and no one is going to say anything," Doyoung groaned loudly, but before he could protest, Taeyong rasied his voice and continued. "We are going to drag this on as long as we can, and you aren't going to ruin it. They need to stay clueless, and happy in their little...weird bubble of cluelessness. And I'm not just talking about Jisung and Chenle."

Jaehyun leaned into Doyoung and whispered, "I think he's talking about Sicheng."

"You are so dumb."


	8. Chapter 8

Sunday, August 5  
27 days

•Donghyuck•

 

"It's been a few hours since I've wanted to rip my hair out, where's Donghyuck?"

Doyoung's voice sounded from outside the break room Donghyuck was currently hiding in. Donghyuck squeezed his eyes shut, his fingers tugging at his hair harder than he had before.

He held his breath, trying hard to stop the tears that poured down his cheeks, but the more he tried to force it back, the faster the tears seemed to flow.

He tried to stay quiet, to swallow the painful lump in his throat because he knew he would be teased mercilessly if he was discovered. He was already annoying enough, according to everyone else, and it hurt to think maybe Mark was irritated with him too.

He wasn't really surprised, after all, he knew what he was doing. It was his fault, he was too loud, a bit obnoxious.

Donghyuck let out a long, shaky breath of air and leaned his head back against the wall behind him. He ran his fingers over his forearms. The ones that hadn't been stitched up evenly, leaving an awkward looking scar starting at his wrists and ended just below his elbow, that raised from the skin a bit higher than it should. It almost worked. He doubted he could ever do it again, as much as he wanted to. He didn't have the nerve, there was no way he could ever sit there and do that to himself. Not after seeing Mark's face the first time he tried.

And the second. 

The second time, he really thought it would work. No blood, no mess, and no one had any idea. Of course, like the first time, Mark just had to worry so much, and no one blamed him of course. It was Sicheng who asked where Donghyuck had gone, and it was Jisung who commented on how he'd been in the bathroom for a very long time. And suddenly, Mark could barely breathe when he rushed to the bathroom, knocking and calling out to see if anything was wrong. He hadn't expected a response, and he didn't get one.

Mark had barely started yelling for Johnny when he was there, slamming against the door until it burst open. Donghyuck sat on the edge of the bathtub, an empty bottle of pills on the floor in front of him. Mark grabbed him, yelling at him as he shook him, but Donghyuck let himself fall to the floor, crying. Loud, ugly, runny-nosed sobbing that seemed to tear up his throat. 

I want to die, he screamed through his tears as Mark held him on the floor, holding Donghyuck's face in his hands. I hate you.

But he didn't hate Mark, and he didn't get to die. Johnny called an ambulance, and Donghyuck had to get his stomach pumped, and since then, he wasn't allowed to go anywhere alone. Mark even waited outside the door every time he went to the bathroom, and Donghyuck was miserable.

He could do it now, he thought, as he remembered the capsule in his pocket. The little blue pill that everyone was given, so they could die peacefully. Donghyuck wanted to take it so badly, and since this was the first time he'd been alone since his second attempt, he could take it right then and there with no one to stop him. 

Donghyuck smiled at the thought, finally having control, not having to fake it anymore. He hated it, he hated constantly having to cheer everyone up, cracking jokes and poking fun at everyone. He liked it at first, pretending he was happy.

But he was tired. And the thought of having to keep going was the second worst thing he could think of.

The first being that he would be leaving Mark alone. He couldn't do that.

Donghyuck hated himself for hurting him. Twice.

He had no idea why Mark even let him keep the pill with him, he was surprised when he didn't immediately take it away from him.

Maybe he knew that Donghyuck couldn't do it.

"No, guys, where the fuck is Donghyuck?" Mark asked, voice raising slightly. Donghyuck squeezed his eyes shut again, desperately trying to force back the tears that had finally begun to slow. Until he heard Mark asking for him.

Only a few minutes passed before he heart footsteps in front of the door. Donghyuck didn't bother wiping his tears away, he didn't care if anyone saw him anymore. It didn't matter.

"Here." He said softly after he heard a light knock. The door opened slowly, and Mark stepped in and shut the door behind him.

"Hey," He said as he knelt down in front of him. "I was worried about you."

Donghyuck nodded, tuning to face Mark. Mark held his arm open and Donghyuck fell into them, pressing his face into his chest. "I know. You always are."

"Can you blame me?"

"No."

Mark sighed and held Donghyuck tighter against him. Donghyuck suddenly felt warm, his heart beating rappidly in his chest, and he wondered if Mark could hear it. He could hear Mark's, which was just as loud, or maybe that was just because  his head was resting just above where his heart would be.  

Donghyuck looked up at Mark, who was staring at the wall across the room. He leaned up, pressing his lips to the underside of Mark's jaw. "I love you."

Mark frowned. "No you don't."

"Don't say that," He felt his breath hitch in his chest. "Please, don't say that."

"If you loved me, you wouldn't leave."

"I won't leave," Donghyuck replied quickly, sitting up. He cupped Mark's face in his hands and peppered kisses all over his face. "I won't leave."

Mark gently pushed him back. "Promise."

Donghyuck nodded. "Yes. I promise."

"Okay," Mark gave a small smile, moving his hand away from Donghyuck's chest and letting him lay back on him. "Just so you know, if you break that promise, I'll never forgive you."

"I know."


	9. Chapter 9

Tuesday, August 8  
24 days

•Jisung + Chenle•

 

Jisung tore another piece of cardboard off the 'wall' next to him. He pounded his fist on the metal shelf beneath him. Chenle reached up and passed the lighter through the thin bars. Jisung held it in his hand for a few minutes, turning it I'm his fingers. The little smiley face Chenle had drawn on it with a permanent marker was starting to rub off, and look more like Yukhei when he was trying to lie, but his half-smirk always gave him away.

It took him a few tries to light it, thanks to his sweaty fingers-- he felt the need to ball his hands into fists at all times.

Three or four years ago, Jisung was a nail-biter. Which was normal, lots of kids bit their nails, and he had seen plenty of adults doing it too. But when he had bitten off all of his nails, having gotten so low that they were almost non-existent, he needed to bite something or else he'd go crazy. So instead, he bit the skin around his fingers. His fingers were in awful shape, constantly covered in dried blood and jagged edges of nail that had been trying to grow back, but Jisung wouldn't ever let them.

After half a year of having practically useless hands, because they bled ever time he tried to tie his shoes or open a carton of chocolate milk, his mother bought him a pair of red gloves. He wore them all day and night, the thick fabric keeping him from biting his fingers in his sleep. After a while, he broke the habit, and instead he carried around an old shoelace that he constantly tied and untied knots to keep himself occupied. 

His nails had finally grown out, and for a while, he refused to cut them. Until Chenle ended up getting badly cut in a 'freak trampoline accident' that involved Chenle's cheek, Jisung's talons, and a trip to the hospital that ended with two stitches.

Jisung went home and cut his nails.

"We're gonna need more boxes soon," Chenle said as he crawled up onto the second shelf, and plopped down next to Jisung. "If you're gonna keep burning it, I mean."

Jisung pointed the tiny flame at Chenle, which wasn't very threatening but got the point across. Jisung sighed and lifted his thumb off the lighter, closing it in his palm. He felt a sudden wave of nausea wash over him, and he slowly leaned forward. "Chenle..."

Chenle pursed his lips. "I know you like fire and all, but I'm actually starting to worry if you're gonna end up being an arsonist or something," He shook his head, and opened his mouth to continue, but Jisung reached out and grabbed his arm. "Dude, what?"

"I don't feel good."

"Don't puke on me, I'll kill you."

"It's not like that," Jisung shook his head. Chenle could see the color draining from his face. "Get Taeyong."

Chenle sat there for a second, Jisung's breaths grew louder and more forced. Jisung's arms shot out, and a look of panic replaced the previous confused expression, and Chenle physically couldn't bring himself to move, though he knew he had to. "Taeyong!" He finally yelled, wrapping both arms around Jisung's waist and tried pulling him out of their box fort, but Jisung was a lot harder to carry, or in this case, drag, than he remembered.

Chenle suddenly felt himself being pushed out of the way the moment he stepped out into the store, and Jisug was pulled away. "What happened?" Kun asked, running over just after Taeyong had. 

"I-I don't know, he just..." Chenle turned his head to the side, standing up on his toes to try and see over Johnny's shoulder, but he stood as a barrier between him and Jisung, and frankly, he didn't like it. "He said he didn't feel good. And then this."

"That's weird."

Yuta coughed. "Actually, it isn't. There's only a few weeks left, and the air is only going to get worse. It's gradual, not like we're going to all die at once."

Chenle's eyes widened. "Jisung's gonna die!?"

"No, no one's dying," Taeyong leaned around Johnny to send Yuta a sideways glare. "He's probably just got a stomach virus or something."

"Then why couldn't he breathe very well?""

"Uh... respiratory. Stuff. Lungs and shit. Nothing an inhaler can't fix, right Yuta?"

"Whatever."


	10. Chapter 10

Tuesday, August 8  
24 days

•Ten•

 

"Do you need anything?" Ten asked, glancing up at Jisung for the umpteenth time since he returned. He hadn't been there when it happened, whatever it was.

Yuta seemed to know exactly what was going on, but Ten learned a long time ago not to listen to him, especially after being told that if you put your finger in a pencil sharpener, nothing will happen. In hindsight, that was not the best idea. He was only seven at the time, but still.

Jisung shook his head. "No." He said simply, though his hands were fidgeting in his lap, scratching his wrists and leaving angry red lines that would inevitably end up scabbing over, then digging into the arm of the chair, pulling strings out of his jeans and tying them together, and then setting them on fire with the lighter he took from Chenle. He held it between two fingers for a while, watching it burn. But as the flames slowly got closer to him, he set it on the cement floor and watched it until there was nothing left.

The blanket Jisung liked to carry with him was balled up in his lap, and Ten wondered if it was ever used as an actual blanket.

Then he remembered seeing Taeyong tuck him in once, so nevermind.

"Where are your gloves?" Taeyong asked, leaning over Doyoung to grab Jisung's hands in his to stop his scratching.

Jisung only shrugged.

Chenle poked his head out from the box fort. "He set them on fire outside the other day."

Ten groaned. "Should've told me, I'd get so gasoline for you. Could've made a big pile of stuff and just burn it all."

"Then we could make s'mores!" Jaemin's eyes widened as he looked up at Jeno with a massive grin. Jeno pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips and Ten gagged.

Ten wasn't homophobic.

Far from it actually, he himself was into everything. Mostly Johnny. Taeil liked to say that Ten was the type to screw anything that moved.

But he thought that was a bit far fetched.

And he could deal with couples like Yuta and Sicheng, who were incredibly touchy feely (mostly Yuta, Sicheng just let it happen, honestly) or Mark and Donghyuck (they didn't even act like a couple really. At least not in front of everyone, thank god), but Jaemin and Jeno? They were so sickeningly sweet that he wanted to shove his fingers down his throat and vomit everywhere.

Even that would be less gross than them.

Ten was glad that he wasn't around as much as everyone else, he and Mark often left to find cool things that people had abandoned. Ten was proud that he could cross robbing a bank off his bucket list.

Though Mark said it didn't count because nobody cared about money when the world was ending, and they really just walked in and walked out, but Ten didn't care. It was still cool. 

Ten remembered a few years ago, Mark started acting strange. He knew something was wrong, but Mark wouldn't say anything. But spending most days in a car together, it was hard to avoid the questions, and Ten had always been pretty good at getting information from people.

And his method was simple. Annoy them until they finally broke. And Ten took pride in how easily this worked for him. 

Mark wasn't exactly one for sharing, in fact, the only reason any of them found out that Mark and Donghyuck we're together was after Donghyuck's second suicide attempt.

Ten hadn't even know about the first time, and neither had any of the others. Not until the second time, at least. They had gone to visit Donghyuck in the hospital, and they had seen his scars for the first time. And he felt guilty that he had known Donghyuck for years, and never knew how unhappy he really was.

Mark eventually caved, after a long while of Ten pestering him while the drove through the abandoned cities. He told Ten about how he had stopped by to visit Donghyuck, but the house was silent. Mark didn't think he was home, but went upstairs to see if he had fallen asleep. Mark didn't go into very much detail, all he could say was the blood, there was so much blood, just everywhere.

Ten was pulled from his thoughts when Johnny sat down in the empty space beside him. "He'll be okay."

It took him a few seconds to realize he meant Jisung.

"Will he?"

Johnny sighed, turning to look at Ten. "Honestly, I don't think so," He said softly, glancing to the side to make sure Jisung or Taeyong weren't listening. "There's so much shit in the air. Whatever air is left, I mean. He was suffocating, Ten. We all will. Just...some of us sooner than others I guess."

Ten but his lip and shook his head. "I want to die before he does."

"So do I. I don't think I could handle seeing him, y'know, " Johnny paused to cleared his throat. "Gone."

"Jisung's lungs aren't very good anyways, Johnny."

"I know," He said, looking down at his lap. "But at least for now, he's okay."


	11. Chapter 11

Friday, August 10  
21 days

•Yukhei•

 

"Wanna go get ice cream?"

"Where are we gonna get ice cream, Yukhei?" Jungwoo snapped, eyes narrowed into a scowl as he rolled over to face the opposite direction, staring at the wall so he didn't have to look at Yukhei's stupid face.

Yukhei let out a short puff of air from his nose. Jungwoo had been extremely moody the past week, which was especially strange for him. Yukhei wasn't used to Jungwoo being anything but pleasant, but lately, every little inconvenience seemed to set him off.

He wasn't all that surprised, he almost expected it. He had noticed the slight change in him the first day, his slight hesitance and smile that no longer reached his eyes.

He used to try smiling, even though Yukhei knew it was fake, but as the last several days came and went, Jungwoo didn't bother anymore. He simply didn't have the energy, and Yukhei hated it. He knew it wasn't Jungwoo's fault at all, and Yukhei would never blame him for any of it. He wasn't the same. 

When Yukhei met him, he worked in Bath and Body Works, a store at the mall that sold scented soaps and perfumes and lotions and it's shower gel, not soap. Yukhei had gone in looking for a present for his then-girlfriend, maybe a little bottle of candy apple scented hand sanitizer with a little rubber thingy decorated with cheap plastic rhinestones that she could hook onto her backpack or something. Then he accidentally bumped into Jungwoo when he was carrying a tote full of tester perfumes, and ended up covering the boy with "Cashmere Glow", whatever the hell that was supposed to smell like (Yukhei called it French Whore to which Jungwoo loudly objected). Two weeks later, Yukhei left his girlfriend (and surprise, it went well, turns out she wanted to break up anyway, and they remained friends, yay), and used some lame pick-up line on Jungwoo, one that he had  learned from Kun, I've been feeling off all day, but seeing you really turned me on.

Yukhei keeps this line very close to his heart, and had even planned on reciting it at their wedding, not that he planned on marrying Jungwoo one day, and he totally didn't like to spend his free time fantasizing about it.

He couldn't help it. Yukhei couldn't imagine not having Jungwoo in his life. But now, he had changed so much, to the point that everything Yukhei had fell in love with was going away, and it broke his heart.

He wanted to see his pretty smile-- his real one, one more time before it was too late. And Yukhei was trying so hard, doing everything he could think of that might be fun. Because he knew if he didn't nag, Jungwoo wouldn't move from the bed. He'd stay there staring at the wall, refusing to sleep, and refusing to even look at Yukhei. He was scared. Yukhei knew that. The fact that he wouldn't admit it was a little irritating, but what could he do?

He continuously tried to get some sort of positive response from Jungwoo, even with little things. Rubbing his back, running his fingers through his hair because Yukhei remembered that Jungwoo had a very sensitive scalp and he loved his hair being played with. Jungwoo used to love having his older sister put his hair in lots of tiny ponytails all over his head, not caring  how ridiculous it looked, he just found the slight tug soothing. Heried hugging him, holding him close, but not too much that they couldn't see each other. 

Jungwoo used to blush and laugh, but now, he couldn't even meet his eyes. 

Yukhei hummed softly and leaned forward, pushing one arm underneath Jugwoo and pulled him away from the wall. Jungwoo rolled back over to face him, closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around Yukhei's waist. Yukhei didn't move for a while, he sat there with his legs crossed, and Jungwoo's head in his lap.

"I don't want to die, Xuxi."

"You're not going to die," Yukhei said as he began to curl his fingers through Jungwoo's hair. "We're just going to sleep. Remember how the nights never seem long enough? Especially back in highschool, and you'd dread waking up in the morning?" Yukhei paused to bring Jungwoo's hand up to his lips. He pressed soft kisses to the pads of each finger. "You won't have to worry about the alarm anymore. And I'll be here the whole time."

Jungwoo nodded, his eyes fluttering closed as he let out a breathy sigh. "I hope it'll end quickly."

Yukhei bit his lip. He had overheard Yuta trying to explain to Taeil that it would be gradual, and not all at once. But he wouldn't tell Jungwoo that. Instead, he only nodded.

"I hope so, too."


	12. Chapter 12

Friday, August 10  
21 days

•Yukhei•

 

"Wanna go get ice cream?"

"Where are we gonna get ice cream, Yukhei?" Jungwoo snapped, eyes narrowed into a scowl as he rolled over to face the opposite direction, staring at the wall so he didn't have to look at Yukhei's stupid face.

Yukhei let out a short puff of air from his nose. Jungwoo had been extremely moody the past week, which was especially strange for him. Yukhei wasn't used to Jungwoo being anything but pleasant, but lately, every little inconvenience seemed to set him off.

He wasn't all that surprised, he almost expected it. He had noticed the slight change in him the first day, his slight hesitance and smile that no longer reached his eyes.

He used to try smiling, even though Yukhei knew it was fake, but as the last several days came and went, Jungwoo didn't bother anymore. He simply didn't have the energy, and Yukhei hated it. He knew it wasn't Jungwoo's fault at all, and Yukhei would never blame him for any of it. He wasn't the same. 

When Yukhei met him, he worked in Bath and Body Works, a store at the mall that sold scented soaps and perfumes and lotions and it's shower gel, not soap. Yukhei had gone in looking for a present for his then-girlfriend, maybe a little bottle of candy apple scented hand sanitizer with a little rubber thingy decorated with cheap plastic rhinestones that she could hook onto her backpack or something. Then he accidentally bumped into Jungwoo when he was carrying a tote full of tester perfumes, and ended up covering the boy with "Cashmere Glow", whatever the hell that was supposed to smell like (Yukhei called it French Whore to which Jungwoo loudly objected). Two weeks later, Yukhei left his girlfriend (and surprise, it went well, turns out she wanted to break up anyway, and they remained friends, yay), and used some lame pick-up line on Jungwoo, one that he had  learned from Kun, I've been feeling off all day, but seeing you really turned me on.

Yukhei keeps this line very close to his heart, and had even planned on reciting it at their wedding, not that he planned on marrying Jungwoo one day, and he totally didn't like to spend his free time fantasizing about it.

He couldn't help it. Yukhei couldn't imagine not having Jungwoo in his life. But now, he had changed so much, to the point that everything Yukhei had fell in love with was going away, and it broke his heart.

He wanted to see his pretty smile-- his real one, one more time before it was too late. And Yukhei was trying so hard, doing everything he could think of that might be fun. Because he knew if he didn't nag, Jungwoo wouldn't move from the bed. He'd stay there staring at the wall, refusing to sleep, and refusing to even look at Yukhei. He was scared. Yukhei knew that. The fact that he wouldn't admit it was a little irritating, but what could he do?

He continuously tried to get some sort of positive response from Jungwoo, even with little things. Rubbing his back, running his fingers through his hair because Yukhei remembered that Jungwoo had a very sensitive scalp and he loved his hair being played with. Jungwoo used to love having his older sister put his hair in lots of tiny ponytails all over his head, not caring  how ridiculous it looked, he just found the slight tug soothing. Heried hugging him, holding him close, but not too much that they couldn't see each other. 

Jungwoo used to blush and laugh, but now, he couldn't even meet his eyes. 

Yukhei hummed softly and leaned forward, pushing one arm underneath Jugwoo and pulled him away from the wall. Jungwoo rolled back over to face him, closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around Yukhei's waist. Yukhei didn't move for a while, he sat there with his legs crossed, and Jungwoo's head in his lap.

"I don't want to die, Xuxi."

"You're not going to die," Yukhei said as he began to curl his fingers through Jungwoo's hair. "We're just going to sleep. Remember how the nights never seem long enough? Especially back in highschool, and you'd dread waking up in the morning?" Yukhei paused to bring Jungwoo's hand up to his lips. He pressed soft kisses to the pads of each finger. "You won't have to worry about the alarm anymore. And I'll be here the whole time."

Jungwoo nodded, his eyes fluttering closed as he let out a breathy sigh. "I hope it'll end quickly."

Yukhei bit his lip. He had overheard Yuta trying to explain to Taeil that it would be gradual, and not all at once. But he wouldn't tell Jungwoo that. Instead, he only nodded.

"I hope so, too."


	13. Chapter 13

Sunday, August 12  
19 days

°Jaehyun°

Jaehyun sat silently at the table across from Taeyong. Doyoung, Kun, Yuta, Yukhei, and everyone else were with them too, some sitting at the sides of the table, some standing against the wall. Everyone was there, except for two.

Jaehyun wanted to speak, but he couldn't think of anything to say that the others weren't already thinking. 

Less that twenty days left. Almost three weeks, and that was it. Almost three weeks, and they were already starting to go. 

Of course, none of them were surprised. He had been struggling a lot for a while now, struggling to breathe in the air, but he had broken into a coughing fit every few minutes. He cried, and Jaehyun was never sure if it was from lack of oxygen, or the pain of his throat starting to tear from constant strain. Either way, he was glad he didn't have to deal with that anymore. 

Jaehyun hated to think it, and he wouldn't ever say it outloud, but he was happy. Sort of. Taeyong would smack him for that.

But, the suffering was over. Now it was everyone elses turn, and Jaehyun found himself looking foward to it. A bit morbid, actually, a lot morbid, but he didn't want to deal with this.

Jaehyun was sick and tired of hearing his friends suffer. Just last night, he was sute that Sicheng was going to die. It went on for hours, his coughing and wheezing and crying and gagging and choking, and Yuta crying and holding him because there was nothing he could do. But Sicheng was okay, if you could call it that.

Jisung was the first to show any signs, but others followed soon after. Even Jaehyun's lungs felt tighter than usual, and he could hear his own breathing much louder than he used to.

Jaehyun looked around the room at their faces. Jaemin, who had previously been leaning against Jeno was not crouched on the floor, head between his knees. Jeno kept beside him, concern written all over his face as he rubbed Jamein's back. That's all he could do.

Renjun stood alone, holding his laptop against his chest. He bit his lip, eyes shifting around the room, and Jaehyun hoped he was staring to believe that maybe the world really was ending. Maybe now he'll stop rolling his eyes everytime someone mentioned the subject.

Kun's face was red and splotchy, and Jaehyun felt especially bad for him.

Johnny looked angry. His jaw was clenched tightly, and every few minutes he'd let let a loud sigh.

Finally, like Jaehyun was expecting, Johnny spoke up. "Is no one going to say anything?"

Kun hiccuped.

Doyoung looked up from the table. He traced his fingers along the grain of the wood, locking eyes with each person individually, but they didn't say anything.

"What do you want us to say?" Mark asked softly after a long silence.

"Oh, I don't know, how about we talk about how Kun found Taeil dead in the fucking freezer?"

Jaehyun cringed as Taeyong shouted in protest and covered Chenle's ears. Chenle didn't need to hear that, and neither did Sicheng, and he looked even more scared and upset than Chenle did. 

Only twenty minutes ago, Kun had went into the freezer to pull out some meat, since they were running low on what was already thawed out. Jaehyun came running when he heard Kun cry out, thinking maybe he slipped or something. Jaehyun almost ran atraight into Kun's back. He stood in the doorway, staring down at the floor.

It looked like Taeil had the same idea, he had gone in to get food, and that just happened to be the time that his lungs gave out. It didn't look like he had been there long at all, only a few minutes.

"There's nothing to talk about, Johnny." Taeyong hissed angrily, his hands still on either side of Chenle's head. "This was going to happen eventually. It's going to keep happening, and you need to get over it."

"I am over it. I know we're all going to die, and I also know that none of us can do anything about it, but we can't just pretend this isn't happening!"

Jisung stepped into the room, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. He had been sick all morning, and hadn't been able to leave the bathroom until now.

"He deserves a proper burial." Donghyuck said, lifting his head up from Mark's shoulder. "He's still in the freezer. That's not okay, he deserves better than that."

Yuta shook his head. "It's too hot. We wouldn't last ten minutes outside. We'll put him downstairs." Yuta started to walk away, only letting go of Sicheng's hand when their fingers could no longer reach. "Someone help me get him."

After a moments hesitation, Jaehyun and Ten followed Yuta to the freezer.


	14. Chapter 14

Monday, August 13  
18 days

•Sicheng•

 

Sicheng felt as if he had been punched in the gut. The wind was knocked out of him, and he couldn't breathe. And not the painful, literally, not being able to breathe that he had been dealing with lately, mostly during the night when he'd wake up wheezing and gagging and crying and vomiting all over himself, and he'd make Yuta shower with him because he was too scared to be alone after seeing Taeil's body. He had to take freezing cold showers because the steam from hot water didn't help his lungs any, and if anything, it made things worse. No, this was the, "I'm so shocked right now" not being able to breathe.

Sicheng felt ashamed. He couldn't even brush his own teeth. Hell, he tried, but his hands were shaking too violently, and he kept jabbing himself, until Yuta had enough and decided to do it for him. So Yuta would sit on the edge of the bathtub and Sicheng would kneel between his legs, feeling like a little kid again because Yuta did it exactly the same as his mother used to before he knew how to brush his teeth by himself. 

"That's...is that..." Sicheng slowly raised his arm from his side to point at a figure in the sidewalk a little ways ahead of them. He couldn't bring himself to say the name, but he knew exactly who was lying there motionless. Someone he hadn't spoken to in a while, but it still upset him.

"Shh," Yuta hushed him, pulling him to the other side of the street.  Sicheng's eyes never left the body, even as they walked away. "That's not him, don't worry."

Yuta was lying. He knew that, but he wasn't mad. The small amount of skin that was exposed had turned grey, and chunks of flesh were missing. Sicheng didn't want to think about all the birds that had been picking at him. There weren't very many animals left either. A few here and there, but the ones who lived underground seemed to be okay. Sicheng absolutely hated how the bugs seemed to be thriving. But he decided, at least something good was happening. Even if it didn't have anything to do with him.

He still wasn't entirely sure what was going on. Taeyong would always shut him out of the room whenever the others would talk. He didn't know why, though. He was a grown-ish man, he could handle it. He didn't need to be pushed away, like Jisung and Chenle were.

He wasn't a baby, as much as he started to feel like one recently.

"Renjun's having a breakdown."

Sicheng bit the inside of his cheek.

"He uh...he told Donghyuck that he was right. And then threw his laptop at him."

He tasted blood. 

"It's totally smashed."

Sicheng bit the other side. Hard.

"Hey," Yuta suddenly stopped walking, and squeezed Sicheng's hand to keep him from walking ahead. "What's wrong?"

Sicheng stared up at him. He was quiet for a minute, but Yuta was right, something had been bothering him for a while. Other than the obvious, of course. "Why don't you ever complain about having to take care of me?"

Yuta blinked. "...do you want me to?"

"I'm serious. If it was anybody else-"

"It's not anybody else, though. And to be honest, in this situation, no matter who it was, I'd still help them out. The last few nights have been hell for you."

"Yuta?"

"Hmm?'

Sicheng spit blood. "I need you to tell me what's going on. Why won't anyone tell me anything? I'm not a little kid, I want to know. I need to know," Sicheng reached up, twisting his fingers into Yuta's jacket. "Please." He added, when Yuta hesitated.

Yuta let out a low sigh, reaching up to pull Sicheng's hands away from his jacket and instead, enveloping them in his own. "There's really no way to sugar coat this."

"Okay, then just say it."

"Are you sure?"

"What did I just say?" Sicheng groaned.

Another sigh. "The atmosphere is literally tearing itself apart."

Sicheng blinked.

"And we're all dying a slow, painful, death. Every single one of us."

At first, he didn't know what to say.

He couldn't say he hadn't expected this, because he did. He just didn't want to say anything, and then be wrong, and get laughed at and teased and, 'aw, Sicheng, you're so cute and stupid' * because that's definitely never happened before.

**(-Sicheng's entire friend group, excluding Yuta, 2005-present)

Instead, Sicheng just pursed his lips and nodded. Yuta let go of his hands, running his own over Sicheng's sides lightly before pulling him closer. He rested his chin on his shoulder, rubbing his back. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Sicheng managed to say. His voice was muffled, but he didn't feel like turning his head to speak clearly. His face was burried in the crook of Yuta's neck, and he closed his eyes when Yuta started to rock them slowly. "I guess I already kind of knew that."

"Don't tell Taeyong I told you."


	15. Chapter 15

Wednesday, August 15  
16 days

•Yukhei•

Yukhei groaned in frustration.

A few days ago, he had taken Jungwoo out. It wasn't much, just a drive. Still, it seemed to do some good, because near the end, Jungwoo had insisted that Yukhei kept the windows rolled down even in the pouring rain, because whoever was left might want to hear the music too. So Yukhei grinned, and turned the volume up as high as it could go without it being uncomfortable.

Ten had let Yukehi borrow* one of the trucks he kept parked behind the store.

**Was it really even necessary for him to ask? Ten had stolen it anyways. Or maybe it was Mark? Either way, Mark was involved. Whether it was his idea, Yukhei didn't know, and he didn't care.

Today, Yukhei woke up alone. He had fallen asleep on one of the mattresses that he had dragged into one of the grocery aisles, because he liked the cold, and so did Jungwoo. Jungwoo eventually joined him. He had been talking with Kun most of the day and far into the night. Yukhei didn't have any interest in it though. It was probably boring. But when he woke up, Jungwoo was no longer at his side.

"Have you guys seen Jungwoo?" Yukhei asked, after he had wandered around the store, going up and down every aisle about three times.

"Not since he told me he hated you and that you make him want to throw up every time he's sees you."

"Shut up, Jaemin."

Jaemin shrugged. "I can't."

"He's probably off reading that book that he always has."

"1984? The book he's read twelve times and still doesn't know anything about?"

"He's distracted, Yukhei," Kun said as he pushed Jisung's hair back from his forehead. The heat had risen exceptionally high within the past week. He'd say it was a new world record, but who's keeping track anymore? Jisung's hair was dripping wet, and he slept on the concrete floor. The floor was warm, but still much cooler than anywhere else. Other than the aisles where the alcohol and other beverages we're kept but that was all the way across the store and Jisung probably wouldn't be able to make it over there anyways. "You can't blame him."

"I know that."

The blanket he usually held in his arms was cast aside for the first time in...well, as long as Yukhei had known him. So about thirteen months.

Donghyuck was sat with his legs crossed, leaning back against a shelf that was full of scented candles. Mark was laying on the concrete floor as well, but he had his head in Donghyuck's lap. Donghyuck ran his fingers through Mark's hair, pushing it back away from his face, the same way Kun had been doing to Jisung. Only Mark wasn't alseep.

He had lost a lot of weight, to the point where if it wasn't the end of the world, Yukhei would be scared for him. But they were all going to die. So he didn't bother saying anything.

It wasn't that Mark wasn't eating, because he was. He just couldn't keep anything down. At this point, Mark was living off water and tiny bits of frozen bagels. Nobody wanted to thaw them out because the freezer was the only thing keeping them from going bad.

Yukhei sighed and started to walk around the store again, every so often calling out Jungwoo's name. To no response, which was starting to worry him. It had been over an hour, and  nobody knew where he was.

He thought about all the awful things that could've happened to him. Maybe he suffocated like Taeil did. Maybe he was killed by one of the gangs that thought "lol no cops, let's shoot stuff", and decided that Jungwoo would work nicely for target practice. 

He kept thinking of scenarios like that, until he remembered that Jungwoo had planned on going the the library across the street to get new books, because he was sick of reading the same one over and over again. Even though he didnt remembered any of it.

Yukhei smiled to himself. He had gotten himself worked up over nothing. Jungwoo was fine, and he'd be back soon. Yukhei was about to turn around and head back to find Doyoung, to see if he wanted to walk to the library with him to get Jungwoo, when he felt something touch his leg.

He jumped and looked down. "Hey- wait..."

Jungwoo's fingers gripped tightly at his pant leg, tugging at it in an attempt to pull Yukhei down to him. He was curled up on the floor, his face bright red and contorted. Veins bulged around his forehead and his neck.

"Jungwoo, I was looking for you," Yukhei said as he knelt down, his voice suddenly barely above a whisper. "Why didn't you call for one of us?"

"I can't-" Jungwoo's voice was sudden interrupted by a loud, wet sounding cough. It smelled of metal. Red began dripping from the corner of his lip, and into a small puddle on the floor. "I tried."

"Can you stand up?"

Jungwoo gave him a look. Right, he hadn't thought of that. Silly him, he didn't have to lay there for the past hour.

"Right," Yukehi mumbled, standing up straight. "Sorry. I'll be right back. Johnny will probably want to put you with the others."

Put all the dying together. Yukhei didn't like that. It made everything so much more depressing. He liked to stay away from that area as much as possible, and he had already spent too much time in there in the last few hours than he wanted to for the next two and a half weeks. He felt guilty about it, though. They were his friends, and he didn't even want to see them. Not unless they were healthy, and back to their old selves.

Yukhei wished they would've just dropped dead like Taeil did.

He was lucky. He didn't suffer as long as the others have.

Yukhei didn't know what he would do now, Jungwoo was going to be in there. He supposed it didn't matter now, whether he like it or not, he'd be spending all of his time around them.

Yukhei wished it had been the other way around. That it was him on the ground, coughing up blood.

Then he could get it all over with, instead of having this cloud of dread hanging over him.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was inspired by a book I read in english last year, it's call Unwind by Neal Shusterman, it's a really great book, if anyone is interested.

Wednesday, August 15  
16 days

•Doyoung•

 

Already, Doyoung feels his limbs starting to go numb.

He rolls his head to the side, pressing his cheek against the hard metal grating of the shelf he had been layed across. It reminded him of a morgue.

Jaemin stood across the aisle, blocking his view of Jeno laying on the shelf across form him. Jaemin stood there all day, not saying a word. Aside from the few times Jeno was actually concious, and the even fewer times he wasn't hacking up a lung, they whispered to each other in hushed tones.

Doyoung didn't wonder at all what they were talking about.

It didn't matter.

He found it difficult to think about anything other than the fact that he couldn't move most of his body, and he wasn't sure he could even talk anymore. He hadn't tried. 

He'd been lying there for what felt like weeks, though he knew it was only a few days, silent and unmoving, aside from turning his head from side to side. 

Taeyong had come over a few times to try and get him to eat, but Doyoung would never take anything. He didn't want it. He didn't feel hungry at all, which he thought was odd since he hadn't eaten anything since the night before he was put out here. Back when he could actually stand up.

Doyoung stared at the hand that hung over the shelf above him. Long, bony fingers that twitched every few minutes, but otherwise, lay still. 

Part of him wanted to reach up and hold it, and maybe he would have, if he had the ability to do so. But another part of him was scared that when he decided to touch it the hand would be cold and lifeless. Even more so than it already was.

He didn't see who it was. He wasn't awake when they were out above him, but he didn't need to see. The way Donghyuck always hung around told him everything. He even woke up to him crying, tugging on the dangling arm a few times.

Mark would groan, but that was all he could do. Doyoung wondered what it was like for Donghyuck, having to watch the person he loved, the only person he was living for, slowly, painfully die in front of him, without being able to do anything about it.

Of course, he didn't want to know.

Doyoung felt guilty that not once had he wondered how his girlfriend was doing, or if she was still alive. The fact that she was probably dead didn't even bother him. Maybe it was the fact that he was dying, and everyone around him was as well, that seemed to take away from everything else. Everything that was once important to him.

Instead, he was upset. He had his mind set on Taeyong for a couple weeks now, ever since he noticed how similar his body was to his girlfriend's and wow, Doyoung was really deprived. But it was too late now, and Doyoung was kicking himself for not trying anything sooner.

Even Kun would've sufficed, but Doyoung didn't think he would be up for it. Guess he'd never know, now.

"There's no more room." Kun's voice sounded from a few feet away. He heard loud groan and heavy, rushed footsteps circle the room. Yukhei paused in front of Doyoung, their eyes meeting briefly before he continued on.

"Where am I supposed to put him?" Yukhei made an attempt to whisper, something he had never been good at. "I'm not going to leave him out there."

"I don't know, Yukhei. Just bring him back to wherever it is that you've been sleeping, okay? You have a bed?"

"Yeah, I mean...a mattress on the ground counts, right?"

"That's all any of us have, so yeah. Just put him there, okay? Then you two can have some privacy. If you need anything, come get me. Or Taeyong, but try for me. Taeyong has Jisung most of the time."

There was a long pause before anyone spoke again, and Doyoung felt his eyelids growing heavy. "Thank you."

His chest begins to tighten.

When I was six, my father went to jail for something he did before I got born. I never knew what he did, but Mom says I'm just the same.

"Do you need help carrying Jungwoo back?"

"Not unless he throws up on me."

When I was three, I had a babysitter. She was beautiful. She shook my sister. Real hard. My sister got wrong. Never got right again. Beautiful is dangerous. Better get them first.

Doyoung's eyes slowly opened again, but something was blocking his view.

I'm alone, and I'm crying, and no one's coming to the crib. The nightlight burned out. And I'm mad. I'm so mad.

Kun stood directly in front of him, his face contorted in concern. Or was it fear? Doyoung didn't care.

Voices grew louder around him, and soon, more people ran to his side. But his vision was already going fuzzy, and he couldn't understand anything they were saying. It was like he was underwater. He couldn't hear, or see...or breathe.

Left frontal lobe.

I... I ... I don't feel so good.

Left occipital lobe. Doyoung tried to gasp.

I ... I ...don't remember where ...

Left parietal lobe. Nothing went in.

I ... I ... I can't remember my name, but ... but ...

Right temporal. His heart hammered against his chest.

... but I'm still here.

Right frontal. Air.

I'm still here ...

Right occipital. Nothing.

I'm still...

Right parietal. Nothing.

I'm ...

Cerebellum. Nothing.

I'm...

Thalamus. Nothing.

I...

Hypothalamus.

I...

Hippocampus.

...

Medulla.

...

...

...


	17. Chapter 17

Thursday, August 16  
15 days

•Yuta•

 

Yuta leaned his head back against the door, and let out long sigh. His heart pounded in his chest, and he took his damp t-shirt (he wasn't sure if it was from sweat or tears, or even if it was his own) and wiped at the dried tears on his cheeks. It didn't work very well, as he still felt the stickiness every time he moved.

But Yuta didn't care about that. Not now at least; it was finally quiet.

After hours of holding Sicheng against him, so he was bent over Yuta's shoulder as he coughed and coughed, vomit all over the floor only to choke, and cough some more. It was a vicious cycle, and Yuta's heart shattered when Sicheng shouted hoarsely that 'I want to die already', through his tears. Yuta had never heard anything like that, he didn't know that a voice could be filled with so much fear and misery, and even now, he could still hear the words echoing in his mind. 

Kun had tried taking Sicheng to the aisle where the others were kept, layed out across empty shelves. But Yuta refused to let anyone touch him. If Sicheng was put with the others, that meant he was going to die. Yuta knew it was going to happen soon, but he still hoped that they could have a few more days together. That's all he wanted. Maybe those last few days could be peaceful for them. Sicheng might even feel better. Yuta thought that he would be okay with him dying, as long as he wasn't hurting.

Yuta had already decided that once Sicheng was dying, more than he already was (and Yuta figured he'd be able to tell, it didn't really take a genius), he would take the little blue capsule he hid in his bag. Then they could die together.

He didn't want Sicheng to be alone in death.

Yuta lifted himself up off the floor, quickly reaching out to steady himself when he got to his feet. His body still hadn't adjusted to the heat, and Yuta had never been a fan of warm weather. And this was record breaking, fucking die if you're outside for fifteen minutes weather. He heard over the radio that Japan had even flooded a week ago, and was now totally submerged underwater. Part of him wished he was there. Dead, right along with everybody else.

"Taeyong," Yuta said as he approached the crouched figure beside who he assumed to be Jisung. "How is he?"

It was late, around that time where reality seemed to be a bit altered. Yuta always found the strangest things happened then. Like walking up at a friend's house in the middle of the night, or walking through the woods in the dark. It gave him the same feeling of walking out of a late night movie at the theater into an empty mall.

The majority of the lights were shut off, but then again, they hadn't been turned on for days. They found it was best to keep it as dark and as cool as possible. Which was nice, especially for those like Jeno and Jisung, who seemed to really only be suffering from the heat, and had become sick.

"Not any better," Taeyong replied with a sigh. "But not any worse either. What's up?"

"I don't think Sicheng is going to last more than a few days."

Taeyong nodded. He smelt of alcohol.

"So I was thinking that when he died, I'd take the pill."

Taeyong didn't say anything.

"I want to be with him. So I was going to ask if you could," Yuta trailed off and scratched nervously at the back of his neck. "Like, just not move us apart."

"You want to die with him. Like...literally, at the same time. With him."

"Yes," Yuta's voice cracked, and he felt tears burning his eyes again. "Taeyong, you didn't see him when he found out about Taeil. He was devastated, I found him hugging his body a couple days ago, bawling his fucking eyes out."

"Yuta, that's a lot to-"

"I can't leave him alone, okay?! He's fragile."

"He'll be dead, Yuta," Taeyong's voice was suddenly harsh. Yuta blinked, and a few tears rolled down his cheeks. Taeyong stood up, finally leaving Jisung's side. He stepped towards Yuta, reaching out and shoving his shoulders back. "All of us are going to be fucking dead. It doesn't matter. None of this matters at all, okay?"

Yuta shook his head as he stumbled back. "You don't mean that, I know you. You're just saying that because of Jaehyun."

Taeyong shook his head wildly, bringing his palms up to either side of his head. "I'm not...Jaehyuns fine. He's fine. This has nothing to do with him. He's fine, he's just sleeping."

"Yeah?" Yuta cocked his head to the side. "Is Renjun asleep too? And Taeil? And Doyoung? Taeyong, he's fucking dead! Get it together, man! Jesus, fuck, you have a kid on the ground behind you, who needs you, and you go and get fucking drunk, like the rest of us aren't suffering just as much!"

Taeyong didn't speak for a while. He stared at the ground, nodding slowly. "I miss him so much," He said slowly. "I would've taken my pill already, but I have to take care of Jisung. I'm not going until I know I've done all I can. Until he doesn't need me anymore."

"What about Kun?"

"He's busy enough already. I'm really proud of him," Taeyong started to choke up, and he wiped at his eyes furiously with his jacket sleeves. "I just wish everything wasn't so fucked up."

"Hey," Yuta said, reaching out to hug him. One of the most awkward and uncomfortable hugs if his life. "Everything's always been fucked up. But it's gonna be over soon."

"It better be, I'm sick of this."


	18. Chapter 18

Friday, August 17  
14 days

•Chenle•

"Chenle."

He didn't want to open his eyes. Chenle was perfectly content lying there on the ground, letting the coolness of the smooth, cement floor sink into his skin. He clung to Jisung, though the younger hadn't moved in days. He would've been worried, but his chest continued to rise and fall, same as it always had. Every so often his breath would hitch, but it would return to normal just as soon as it happened.

"Chenle." The voice said again, louder than the first.

Chenle hummed, managing to pry his eyelids open. Mark stood over him, staring down with bloodshot eyes. Chenle jumped up, startled. The last time he had seen Mark, he was lying lifeless on a shelf, and Donghyuck had climbed up beside him. He looked awful. Thick, purple undereye bags that seemed to swell, the whites of his eyes were bright red and shining. He wheezed with every breath, his chest rising and falling rapidly. Mark's clothes hung off his body, suddenly several sizes too big. His cheeks were hollow, his eyes sunken, his skin yellow and papery.

"Mark!" Chenle's voice came out smaller than intended. But he was scared. "What're you doing?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Okay," Chenle pulled his knees up to his chest. He noticed Mark's legs were shaking, and he wondered how he even managed to climb down and cowm find him. "Sit down."

"I don't think I'll be able to get back up."

"Fair enough," Chenle pursed his lips. "What's up?" Maybe a little too casual for talking to a freaking zombie. Chenle shuddered. 

"Its about Donghyuck."

Chenle narrowed his eyes. He couldn't think of a single reason why Mark would come to him about Donghyuck. Taeyong or maybe even Johnny would've made a lot more sense. "What about him?"

"He has a lot of issues. With himself. I doubt you know about it, Taeyong proabbly doesn't want you to know."

"I saw his scars."

Mark nodded. "I made him promise to stay with me. Y'know, now that we're all gonna die, and shit."

Chenle still didn't see the point.

"I made him promise not to die. I know that's impossible. I know that's stupid, I just," Mark trailed off and sighed. His body started to sway slightly, and he threw an arm out to hold himself steady against the wall. "I don't want him to freak out after I die. Understand what I'm saying?"

"He's living for you, isn't he?"

"I'd like to be humble and say there's more to it, but there really isn't. Basically, what I'm asking is that you keep an eye on him when I'm gone, okay?"

"Mark-"

"I'm leaving."

Chenle blinked. "You're leaving?"

"I hate this, I feel like I got run over by a truck, Chenle. And then it keeps backing over me and I can't deal with this anymore. I'm leaving, and I'm gonna go out on my own terms. I have Donghyuck's pill, and mine."

"Mark, you only need one."

"I'm taking both."

"Why can't you just take them here? So you can be out with the others? Then you won't be alone."

Mark shook his head. In the darkness, Chenle saw a faint glimmer over Mark's face. He was crying.

"I don't want Donghyuck to see."


	19. Chapter 19

Saturday, August 18  
13 days

•Jeno•

Donghyuck had been running around the store all morning, calling out for Mark and searching in places that made no sense, but in his current frantic state, looking under boxes didn't seem too far fetched.

Jeno watched him from the mattress that he had dragged out for Jaemin, who was lying across his lap. Every so often, Jeno had to slap him on the back whenever his breathing hitched, and he'd wake up for a few minutes. All smiles, which he was incredibley happy about. Despite being so weak, Jaemin was still the happy and cheerful boy he had known for almost a decade, and Jeno was happy that he hadn't practically crumbled away like the rest of them had once they got sick. 

Jeno felt like complete and utter shit, but he didn't think it was to the point where he needed anyone to look after him, and instead, he ignored everything the seemed abnormal to take care of Jaemin. 

Jeno was too busy watching Donghyuck running around, though at this point, he seemed to be giving up and was about to burst into tears, that he didn't notice Jaemin reaching his arms up around his neck, until he was being pulled down.

"Wha-" His words were cut off by Jaemin's lips pressing against his. Like every time, he felt his heart hammering in his chest, and his face flushed bright red. He'd been dating Jaemin for two years, and he still got all flustered everytime they kissed. He wasn't proud of it.

Jaemin stared up at him once he pulled away. He wore a small smile, and let a short ouff of air out through his nose. "What?" Jeno asked.

"You."

"What about me?"

"You feel it too, don't you? You're dying."

"All of us are dying. "

Jaemin rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. Yukhei is doing just fine. And so is Johnny."

"I noticed. It's almost like the subs are the ones dying out-"

"Oh my god, shut up," Jaemin smacked his chest, but he still laughed. "That's awful."

"And true."

"Yeah," Jaemin sighed. "I noticed that too. Maybe it's because most of us are smaller? I don't know. Or it's just a coincidence."

"It's just a coinkydink?"

"Just a coinkydink," Jaemin agreed. Jeno expected another 'shut up', but was pleasantly surprised. "Hey, Jeno?"

"Hmm?"

"I need to tell you something."

Jeno furrowed his eyebrows. Great. Here it comes. The, 'I'm sorry but I don't want to date you anymore' speech. Or maybe, 'I'm already dead and this is my fucking ghost you're talking to, you psycho'. Honestly, he wouldn't even be surprised at this point. "What's up?" He said, in an attempt to sound casual and hide his nervousness. But of course, because the universe hated him, in case you couldn't tell by the way all of his friends were dying, his voice cracked slightly.

"I love you."

Jeno felt as if his heart totally stopped. He was expecting...well, anything but that. He wasn't disappointment at all, in fact, he couldn't have been happier. "Jae-"

"I'm not kidding. I'm fucking in love with you, and your stupid, dumb, face. You're awful and perfect and I just really needed to tell you, okay?"

Jeno wanted to say something back. But his brain didn't seem to want to work, and in all honestly he was incredibly disappointed in himself. He couldve said something back. It might've been something really suave too, but his mouth just wouldn't work.

"You love me, too, don't you?" Jaemin asked, his eyes widening. But after a few seconds, something clicked in Jeno's mind, and Jaemin's panicked expression seemed to shake him out of his trance and he though, shit, he was going to fuck this up. So instead of trying to force a sentence made up of actual, somewhat intelligent words, he settled for the second best thing. Jeno slipped one hand to the back of Jaemin's neck, and he quickly leaned back down kiss him.

"I do," He finally managed to say against Jaemin's lips. He pulled back slightly, only to press another kiss to Jaemin's forehead. "I do love you."

"Can you stay with me? When, you know..." Jaemin trailed off. His lips trembled slightly. 

Jeno nodded, threading his fingers through Jaemin's hair, which had grown out quite a bit. After working his fingers through the tangles, he started petting his hair, pushing it back away from his face. Jaemin hummed softly, and his eyes fluttered closed.

"Yeah. Of course I will. You didn't even have to ask."


	20. Chapter 20

Monday, August 20  
11 days

•Mark•

 

"Mark?"

Mark hummed and turned towards Ten. Ten's hands gripped the steering wheel tight, his knuckles turning white. Mark waited a while after telling Chenle about his plan to gather up the courage to follow through with it. It took a couple days, because he was selfish, and wanted to spend as much time with Donghyuck as he possibly could before he left.

He spent those two days doing absolutely nothing, they held each other close and talked about everything and nothing. Mark ended up sleeping most of the time, as hard as he tried to fight it, his body decided to shut down sometimes. He'd wake up and profusely apologize between soft kisses placed anywhere Mark could reach. Donghyuck insisted it didn't matter, that he knew Mark didn't mean to fall asleep on him. But Mark could tell how worried he really was, though what was the point? It wasn't like there was any way to keep him alive. Especially now that Ten was driving Mark to his death.

"I slept with Johnny last night."

If it was two months ago, Mark would've been surprised. He would've wondered, wow, since when does Ten have a thing for Johnny? Or he'd wonder why Ten would tell him. He didn't think that was something to just casually bring up.

But this was literally the end of the world. What better time to tell? And again, Mark wasn't going to be around the next day, so maybe Ten thought he was the perfect person to drop the news on. He'd be taking it to his grave. Mark almost smiled.

"Turns out he liked me, too," Ten said, and Mark expected him to be. Instead, he looked upset. Ten laughed softly. "This entire time. I could've done something sooner. We could've had more time, you know?"

Mark nodded.

"It just sucks. This whole thing sucks. The world is a giant...suck fest," Ten glared when Mark started to laugh. "Don't laugh, you piece of shit. God damn it, look at you. Scared of your boyfriend, so your solution is to kill yourself."

"Ten, like fifteen minutes ago you were totally on board. You said it was a good idea."

"Shit, man, you're right," Ten said with a sigh. "I'm just mad. Sad and mad."

"Smad?"

"Frustrated."

"I don't like sand."

"Shut up, Anakin, take your fucking pills."

Mark laughed and threw a handful of sand at Ten, who screamed as it rained down on him.

Two days ago, Mark had left with Ten to search for the perfect place. They drove around the city for a while, before Ten suggested the desert. Donghyuck could search the city for Mark, but neither of them thought he would think to go to the desert, eleven miles away from the store. Not too far, but again, Donghyuck couldn't drive, and even though Johnny was able to, Ten promised to keep them from coming anywhere near where Mark's body would be.

They were gone for hours, and when Mark finally returned, Donhyuck had jumped on him out of nowhere, tears streaming down his face, repeating 'I thought you left me' over and over.

That almost hanged Mark's mind about everything he had planned, but he decided that he'd rather have Donghyuck think he'd left them, than to see him dead. And Mark had already lived a few days longer than he expected. In all honestly, Mark's only fear had been dying before he got the chance to leave.

But everything had turned out okay so far, though getting up without waking Donghyuck was extremely difficult. So difficult, that he woke him up almost as soon as he started to move away. Mark had a moment of panic, scared that he blew it, he wouldn't be able to leave. But he kissed Donghyuck on the forehead, nose, lips, told him that he was just going to see Jisung, and then told him to go back to sleep. Donghyuck stared at him for a while, and Mark stared right back, thinking, shit, he knows. But he just nodded and closed his eyes.

Mark let out a sigh of relief, and sat there for a while. Part of him didn't want to leave. Donghyuck looked absolutely stunning, even with the severe amount of weight he had lost, though, Mark couldn't really say anything because he was much worse off. Mark wasn't sure how he managed to stay so tan, none of them had been outside in weeks. At least, that's what he had thought, until he had caught Donhyuck sitting in the sun. Mark yelled at him, as the sun's rays were extremely deadly, especially now, but Donghyuck just rolled his eyes. 'We're all dying anyways. It doesn't matter.'

Mark reached into his pocket and pulled out the two pills. Maybe it was the bright, blue color, that made them seem so harmless, or the fact that they were no bigger than those mini M&M's he used to get when he was a kid. 

He didn't want to think too much about it, afraid that he'd back out. So before he could change hisnmimd, he placed both pills on his tongue, took the bottle of water that Ten held out, and swallowed them both.

"How long do you think it's gonna take?" Ten asked, his voice suddenly soft. He stood a good distance away from Mark, pacing slightly as if he was too scared to come any closer. Like Mark might explode.

"Not too long, I hope. I'm already bored."

"You don't think...y'know, since you took two, something bad is gonna happen?"

"Ten," Mark narrowed his eyes. "One pill will kill me. What could two pills do that could possibly be worse?"

"Good point."


	21. Chapter 21

Wednesday, August 22  
9 days

•Kun•

 

Four deaths in a day, yet Kun didn't feel a thing.

When Taeyong passed, he wasn't surprised. Kun knew he was sick, as much as he tried to hide it, to keep himself occupied by taking care of everyone else.

Jungwoo,  came as a bit of a shock for everyone. He wasn't anywhere near as bad as some of the others. Though, it took hours to calm Yukhei down enough to understand him through his loud sobs. If it were any other situation, Kun might've laughed at him. Yukhei liked to taunt him over everything, and Kun would've jumped at the chance to finally have something to get back at Yukhei, but this was not at all something he would ever use. Jungwoo was loved by everyone, no matter how close they were with him. 

Kun didn't think Yukhei could get any louder, but his distraught cries filled the store for what seemed like forever until he suddenly fell silent. Kun and Johnny both ran to where they saw him last, in fear that he might've done something stupid, but when they got to him, Yukhei was lying over Jungwoo's lifeless body, tears still streaming down his face. He didn't move or make a sound he just stared blankly across the aisle. Every so often he would blink, but that was the only movement he would make.

Ten walked through the front doors yesterday afternoon. His breathing was heavy and all the color was drained from his face.

"What's wrong? Where's Mark?" Donghyuck jumped up as soon as he saw that Ten was alone. Ten kept his eyes down on the floor for a while, chewing his lip as if he was deciding something. 

Finally, he looked up. "Donghyuck, where's your pill?"

"It's in my pocket, I haven't touched it since it was handed out...why?" Donghyuck's hand moved to his pocket when he saw Ten's face. "Wait," He pat the outside, eyes widening as he couldn't feel the small bump that was always there. "It's not here." He dug his hands around in his pockets.

Ten nodded. "Mark took it. And his own."

"Ten..."

"Mark's dead."

"Ten!" Yuta shouted with a glare. Donghyuck stood there, frozen in place. He stared at the ground, lips parted in shock. Kun knew Mark was dying. They all knew. He looked like he should've died already and to be honest, Kun was surprised he managed to continue walking around, considering the week he spent lying with the others, completely and totally unable to move.

Kun wasn't sure how Donghyuck was doing at the moment, as Jeno and Jisung, who had finally gained back full conciousness, had walked him into one of the old employee break rooms to try and comfort him.

Jeno was doing surprisingly well, which Kun found incredibly strange, especially since Jaemin was the second most recent death. Chenle said something about denial being the first stage of greif. Kun wasn't so sure but Chenle seemed pretty sure of it, so he went along.

"We already said our goodbyes," Jeno had said calmly when Jisung asked why he wasn't upset. "I told him everything I needed to. I'll join him soon enough."

Kun was impressed, to say the least. Jeno and Jaemin were two of the youngest, and still they were somehow more mature than any of them. Well...only in certain situations. 

Ten had returned, then disappeared into the bathroom after Jeno and Jisung walked off with Donghyuck. He looked sick, not dying sick but nauseous, I'm gonna be sick, sick.

Johnny tried to follow him, but Ten shook his head and pushed him away. "Babe-" But Ten closed the door before Johnny could finish.

"Leave him alone for a while," Chenle told him. "I mean...he watched Mark literally kill himself."

"Yo," Yuta looked up from his spot on the floor. Sicheng was slumped over in his lap. He looked dead, but every so often his nose would scrunch up and he'd open his eyes, shift his position and fall back asleep. His breathing seemed to have improved. It seemed a little cruel to Kun, as he was sure it would return even worse, and this time, kill him off. Yuta nuzzled his head into Sicheng's neck. "I saw Jooheon today."

"He's alive?"

"Uh...the good news is, we aren't the only ones dropping like flies."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Johnny narrowed his eyes, finally moving away from the bathroom door, and towards the group on the floor.

"Gee, I dunno, Johnny, everyone's pretty much gone now."

"Jackson? What about Seungcheol? Wait, don't tell me. I don't want to know."

"Excellent choice."

Kun wasn't sure how long they had sat there after that. Jisung, Jeno, and Donghyuck eventually came back, all three silently joined the rest. Donghyuck's entire body shook violently, but his face was void of any emotion. Kun kept glancing back at him nervously, but Donghyuck never said a word.

It wasn't too long after, that a gunshot sounded. Jisung had cried out, jumping into Chenle's side and burying his face in his shirt.

Kun and Johnny both ran towards the bathroom, throwing open the door. Kun's eyes widened, and he spun around to shove Jisung and Chenle away from the mess inside.

Kindly felt like he was going to be sick, but he forced everything back and took the two boys to one of the storage rooms. "Why do we have to be in here? It's so cramped!"

"Stay here until I come and get you, okay? Please. Just...just don't come out."

Kun stood there for a few moments after he had closed the door, gathering the courage to go back there.

He didn't want to see any of it again, but he didn't really have a choice. He wasn't going to make Johnny and Yuta clean up the mess.

Kun just wanted to know how Ten managed to get ahold of a gun.

If he was being honest, after thinking about it, it made sense. It wasn't like Ten did it out of nowhere. He helped Mark commit suicide, and despite knowing that Mark wanted it, and that it was all 100% Mark's idea, there still must've been a lot of guilt weighing on him.

It hadn't even been a day.

Sicheng stood several feet away from the bathroom, looking around. He looked dazed, but again, he hadn't been awake for more than a few minutes, or stood up at all in weeks.

Kun wasn't surprised (for once) that Yuta had ended up leaving Sicheng, thought, for anything else, he probably would have let other deal with the issue if it meant having to leave him alone for more than thirty seconds. But Yuta wasn't about to up and let Johnny clean up his new boyfriend's blood and brain matter off the bathroom tiles by himself.

But that was yesterday.

Not that Kun really payed much attention to the days anymore, and it wasn't like he could tell night from day even if he wanted to. Taeyong had used a nail gun to hang thick blankets over the windows to block out the sun completely, so the store was almost totally dark at all times. Jisung and Chenle ran around with flashlights most of the time, and the bathrooms were the only place that they bothered to keep the lights on.

"Kun?" Yukhei said softly, returning from wherever it was he had gone to after Jungwoo's death. Kun hadn't seen him since. "I'm really sorry."

"Why?"

He bit his lip. "I didn't know about Ten. If I wasn't too busy feeling sorry for myself, I could've helped."

Kun shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Ten would've done that no matter what you did. Johnny moved his body, Yuta and I cleaned up, it's done, it's over with. Let's just be glad he wasn't sick. He didn't have to suffer."

Yukhei nodded. "I envy them. Mark and Ten."

"They actually had the guts to do it." Kun said with a bitter smile. "Yukhei?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think you were being selfish. Feeling sorry for yourself? Nobody blames you, okay? You need to greive."

"I don't want to."

"You have to."


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ITALICS ARE MEMORIES

Thursday, August 23  
8 days

•Donghyuck•

 

_Mark ran his hands up and down Donghyuck's arms, fingers running over the bumpy, uneven scars before lacing their fingers together. Donghyuck let out a small breath of air against Mark's neck. "You're perfect."_

_Mark gave him a sad smile. "Nobody could ever be as perfect as you, darling."_

Donghyuck's throat swelled as he forced back sobs. He had spent too much time crying. Too much time wasted, he wasn't going to sit there, wallowing in self pity and wait for death.

Mark had taken his pill. Donghyuck rolled his eyes. Mark wasnt known for being very smart, and Donghyuck didn't think it would be that hard at all to get his hands on another one.

He doubted Taeyong let the younger boys keep theirs. He just had to find them.

_Mark stared up at him, the faintest trace of a smile just barely twitching at the corners of his lips. Even so, he was happy. Donghyuck didn't even try to hide it, eyes falling closed when Mark started moving his hands up and down his sides gently._

_Donghyuck squeezed his legs against Mark's waist, using Mark's chest to hold himself up. He was tired, but he knew if he let himself rest, even for a short amount of time, he would fall right asleep. So he sat there, straddling Mark and enjoying the quiet. Something he didn't get to do very often, despite being the loudest out of all their friends. Aside from Chenle, maybe_.

"Hyung."

Donghyuck turned towards the soft voice. Chenle stood just at the end of the aisle, peering at Donghyuck nervously. "What, Chenle?"

"Um...I just was wondering what you were doing."

"Nothing." Donghyuck mumbled as he turned back to the shelf that was covered in unopened packages of medications, and tossed out the ones he didn't think wouldn't do any damage.

"Hyuck, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. Mark meant a lot to all of us, but I can't imagine how hard this must be for you."

"Everyone is losing somebody." Donghyuck responded, his voice monotone.

Chenle chewed his lip and took a few steps closer. "I know that. Mark told me his plan a couple days ago. He made me promise to look after you."

Donghyuck straighted up and turned around. "Look after me?" He laughed. "Shouldn't I be the one looking after you?"

"In most other situations, but Mark didn't think you would be able to handle his death, and he didn't want you to see him."

"And I didn't want to live this long, but we don't always get what we want."

" _I don't understand it either, Mark." Donghyuck told the frustrated boy. "Nothing bad has ever happened to me or my family. I don't know why I just can't...." He trailed off to wipe Mark's tears. "It's all I think about._

_"What about me? Do you think about me? 'Cause I think about you a lot."_

_Donghyuck nodded his head vigorously. "Of course. Of course I do." He laced their fingers together, ignoring the tug of the IV needle stuck in his arm. Mark noticed the way his face contorted in slight pain, and moved his body closer to Donghyuck's so he wouldn't have to reach so far._

_"This is your second attempt, Hyuck. Promise you'll never leave me." Mark raised their hands to hide face and pressed his lips to the pads of each of Donghyuck's fingers, one by one._

_Donghyuck smiled to himself when he finally found the pills he was looking for._

_"I'll never leave you," Donghyuck said softly, pushing Mark's hair away from his forehead with his free hand. "I promise."_

He wasn't about to break that promise.


	23. Chapter 23

Saturday, August 25  
6 days

•Jisung•

 

His head rolled to the side.

Johnny had been asleep across the room, and Jisung had been lying there, unable to sleep. Instead, he just listened to the sound of his own heartbeat, which seemed louder than usual. But again, lately he had been more aware of certain things he never used to pay attention to.

Johnny's breath suddenly hitched, then silence. Jisung felt panic rising in his chest as Johnny shot up beside him, frantically trying to get in a breath of air. He wheezed, and Jisung squeezed his eyes shut and tried as hard as he could to block out the awful sounds.

He tried to sit up, but he hadn't moved in so long, he didn't have the strength. He squeezed Chenle's hand beside him, hoping he would wake up and help, but he didn't move. 

He could hear Chenle groan beside him, but he didn't wake up. Jisung tried tugging at his arm, but he couldn't get himself to move.

Jisung had never felt so useless, so helpless without Taeyong.

He was annoyed that Taeyong never left him alone, he was always around, always pestering him, and at the time, all Jisung wanted was to have a few hours to himself. He wanted to walk around without getting bombarded with 'do you feel okay?' and 'Jisung, come get some water, we don't need you getting dehydrated', but now, Taeyong was all he wanted. He knew everyone was lying to him, he had overheard Kun and Yuta's conversation about his parents death. He was upset about it, but he didn't want anyone to know that he knew. He cried the first night, and Chenle had found him in the box fort before Renjun had destroyed it during one of his meltdowns the morning before he died.

Jisung squeezed his eyes shut when Johnny hit the ground, which was then followed by silence.

He could feel Johnny's presence, only a few feet in front of him, and Jisung was terrified to open his eyes. He already knew what he would see. 

"Chenle." He finally managed to say, while prying his eyes open. He focused on Chenle, trying hard to keep his eyes from wandering anywhere else. His voice was hoarse, and just saying one word seemed to tear up his throat. Jisung found out Taeyong had passed when he stopped bringing him water, and then it was Kun. And now, after only a day, Yuta had taken his place. Jisung squeezed Chenle's hand. "Please wake up."

"Shut up." Chenle mumbled, rolling over to face him. His eyes remained closed, and Jisung glared.

"Johnny's dead."

"What?" Chenle shot up, looking wildly around the room. He sighed and gestured at Johnny's body, laying still at their feet.

"This close? Right in front of my sister salad?"

Jisung would've been mad at how little Chenle seemed to care. But then, it wouldn't have mattered anyways. They were all dying. Most of them already had. The fact that Jisung couldn't remember who was dead and who was alive told him all he needed to know. That it didn't matter.

Was Donghyuck still alive? He didn't know, but probably not.

"I'm going to kill myself."

Chenle scoffed. "Do it, you won't." Chenle dragged Johnny against the wall by his arms.

"You're right." Jisung sighed. "I can't move."


	24. Chapter 24

Friday, August 31  
1 day

•Yuta•

Yuta paced through the store. Jisung looked up at him without saying a word. A few days earlier, Jisung had started eating again, and gained a little bit of his strength back. He had been walking around earlier, with Chenle at his side.

Kun had passed the night before, and Yuta carried him away by himself.

Sicheng had finally fallen asleep, after several restless night before where he spent his time in the bathroom dry heaving. He had thrown up everything he had eaten days before, until nothing but stomach acid came up. Sicheng couldn't even cry, he didn't have enough water in his body to form tears. 

But it seemed to stop, all of a sudden. He still felt like shit, but he could breathe, and he didn't feel the need to sit next to a toilet for the rest of the day. Yuta had carried him to the middle of the store, where the others were staying. He had taken unused blankets and quilts from the plastic packages of bedding, then grabbing as many pillows as he could find to make a sleeping area big enough for all of them. They only had a few hours, or at least, he thought. He didn't know for sure, but it was around the time scientists and the government had both announced the end. 

He had left Sicheng with Jisung and Chenle. Sicheng was bundled up in several blankets, because at least, the temperature had dropped from the record high, and he was able to turn the lights back on. Yuta was ecstatic.

He walked for what seemed like hours, just pacing the aisles. Things were too quiet. He didn't like it.

He finally came to the basement door. The one he had only walked through a few times, when he was helping Jaehyun or Johnny carry bodies down the stairs, and again that morning. The basement was full of merchandise, things that were going to take the place of what had sold.

Now, layed out between the wooden pallets wrapped in saran wrap, we're the decaying bodies of his friends.

The door was normally closed with boxes stacked in front of it to prevent it from coming open on it's own, since the door didn't stay latched all the way. But the boxes had been pushed aside and the door fell ajar.

The bottom of the stairs glowed slightly with a light that came from further into the room. Yuta sighed, pulling his shirt up over his nose, and descended down the wooden steps.

Jeno sat in the middle of the room, cradling Jaemin in his lap. Jeno looked up when he heard footsteps approaching. "Oh, hi."

Yuta gestured at the bodies around them, some of the older ones barely recognizable. Yuta refused to turn in Taeil's direction. He let his shirt fall away from his face, and the stench of decay crash into him. He felt bile rising in his throat as he gagged, but he forced it down. Flies buzzed in his ears, all around him things were crawling with bugs and maggots. "Jeno, what are you doing?" He asked, more out of concern than actual wonder. Yuta really didn't want to know.

"I don't know," He shrugged, running his fingers through Jaemin's hair. Strands of hair detached from his head, getting stuck in Jeno's hands. He tossed them aside, going back to touching Jamein. His fingers traced over his cheekbones, his jaw, his eyelids, and his lips. His death was recent, so he was still in relatively decent shape. "He doesn't feel the same."

Yuta squeezed his shoulder. "Go back upstairs, Jeno."

"I miss him."

"I know," Yuta said as Jeno stood up. "We'll all be together again soon." Yuta didn't believe in an afterlife, but he figured Jeno needed all the comfort he could get.

"Yuta," Jeno grabbed his an when Yuta started back towards the stairs. "I feel fine."

"That's good."

"I mean...I feel normal. You feel it too, don't you? The air is different."

Yuta blinked. "Maybe it's like a 'calm before the storm' thing."

"Or maybe the world fixed itself."

Yuta couldn't hold back a laugh. "Right. The world's been fucked for ages, Jeno. Hate to burst your bubble, but we're gonna fucking die."

Before Jeno could respond, heavy footsteps ran down the stairs at full speed. Chenle bounced off Yuta, but quickly composed himself. "You have got to see this." His cheeks were flushed bright red, and his breathing was heavy.

"What, did someone else die?"

Chenle didn't respond, instead he tugged Jeno and Yuta up the stairs and ran to the front entrance. The blockade that Taeyong, Johnny, Kun, and Jaehyun had put up had been torn down, most likely by Chenle himself (which was later confirmed with a proud grin).

Jeno struggled to pry the sliding doors open, as they hadn't been used in what seemed like forever, but was really only twenty-something days.

Sunlight poured in, momentarily blinding Yuta. Behind him, he heard a gasp from Jisung, and silence from Chenle and Jeno. Yuta rubbed his eyes with his fists, forcing his eyes to adjust to the sudden bright light. 

"Well, shit."

 

-End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first multi-chapter book I've ever finished, I'm so proud of myself, wow. I was absolutely in love with this idea I had, though I think I could've done better, I'm still pretty happy with how it turned out.
> 
> I usually end up losing my original idea after the first few chapters, but that didn't happen with this one, so I'm really proud of it.
> 
> There will be a sequel, and I've already finished the first chapter to that, so it'll be up soon. Maybe even tonight??? I'm excited enough for it, probably. Anyways, it's called Lost Boys, so look forward to it! I know I am.


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